Anxiety
Anxiety Definition: distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune. Believe it or not, anxiety is a necessary emotion. Anxiety keeps us safe. It keeps us aware of our surroundings and monitoring for possible danger. It helps us to be kind and to look out for others. It drives us to […]
Parent Support and Practical Strategies When You Need Them Most
Erin Walsh, co-founder of Spark and Stitch Institute, is a parent, speaker, educator, and writer. She has worked with communities across the country who want to better understand child and adolescent development and cut through conflicting information about kids and technology. Check out her blog below to learn about some great and easy opportunities for parent […]
Exposed to Coronavirus? Worried Your Child Has Symptoms? Here Are Some Guidelines for Deciding What Is Next.
With kids returning to school and daycare, we are going to start seeing an increase in all types of illnesses. We always do. Runny nose, sore throat, ear infections, fever. These are all part of a typical return to school scenario for many children. But now with the concern about coronavirus, what do you do […]
10 Reasons to Play Board Games Together
I admit it. I love board games. I always have and I always will. Some of my fondest memories come from playing games with my family. It turns out, playing boards games as a family has many benefits for intellectual and socioemotional development. Plus, its fun! Here are some great reasons to play: Family bonding […]
Screen Time: A Parenting Conundrum
First world parenting problem: Screen time! When I was a kid, my parents were mostly worried that if I sat too close to the TV, I would ruin my eyesight. There wasn’t a lot on to watch and plenty of commercials to inspire moving on to a new activity. But how quickly it changed! Video […]
Sibling Rivalry: Avoid Being the Judge and Jury
The kids are having fun together, laughing and playing. And then, just like that, they are not. Crying and yelling ensues with tattling soon to follow. How these situations are handled can determine how often they occur. Really. Children often escalate a situation in order for a parent to get involved. One child blames, the […]
Bullying
It’s National Bullying Prevention Month. The Oxford dictionary says a bully is a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker. As concerned adults, our challenge is to see not just the individual situations, but the whole picture. We all agree that we need to do our best to […]
How to Avoid Picky Eaters
Some kids and even adults are picky eaters. They have lots of things they don’t like to eat. That’s fair. But is there anything we can do to keep this from happening or at least minimize? Yes! Believe it or not kids instinctively know what their bodies need to eat and how much they need […]
The Opioid Epidemic: Impact on Our Children
Our kids are at risk. A young brain starts with the basic instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain. That’s it. If the process of developing executive functions to think through consequences and plan long term is interfered with early on, it is far less likely it is for those executive functions to develop properly. […]